CURRENCIES
New Taiwan dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose 0.52 percent, or NT$0.162, to close at NT$30.868 against the US dollar, as demand for emerging currencies remained strong. The central bank issued a statement saying the pace of NT dollar appreciation is consistent with price movements of other emerging currencies, with the won gaining 1.28 percent, the baht picking up 0.2 percent and the yuan increasing 0.11 percent. As of yesterday, the NT dollar had rallied 4.37 percent against the greenback this year, the bank’s Web site showed.
INVESTMENT
Formosa arms eye US deal
Formosa Plastics Group’s (FPG, 台塑集團) two subsidiaries are expected to finalize a joint investment plan in the US in the first half. Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台化) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) are planning to jointly invest US$9.4 billion in a plant in Louisiana that would produce ethylene and propylene, the companies said, adding that the details of the plan are expected to be completed by the end of June. In the project’s initial phase, the two companies hope to produce 1.2 million tonnes of ethylene, 600,000 tonnes of propylene, 800,000 tonnes of ethylene glycol and 600,000 tonnes of polypropylene per year along with other products, they said.
CHIPMAKERS
PixArt downbeat on revenue
Hsinchu-based chip image sensor maker PixArt Imaging Inc (原相科技) yesterday said revenue for this quarter could decline by a high-teen percentage from last quarter’s NT$1.15 billion (US$372.55 million) due to seasonal factors. However, gross margin could climb from the previous quarter’s 50.2 percent to between 52 percent and 54 percent on lower patent charges from Avago Technologies Ltd, the company said in an earnings conference. PixArt in the fourth quarter of last year reported net income of NT$58 million, or NT$0.53 in earnings per share. For the whole of last year, the firm recorded income of NT$133 million, or NT$1.2 per share, on revenue of NT$4.34 billion.
SHIPPING
Wisdom to receive 13 ships
Bulk shipper Wisdom Marine Group (慧洋海運集團) yesterday said it is to receive 13 new vessels this year as it continues to upgrade its fleet. With its total number of vessels reaching 127, the company might retire some aging ships as the ideal fleet for the company is about 120 vessels — which could add contribution to its non-operating income this year, chief financial officer Bruce Hsueh (薛亦駿) told an investors’ conference. The company reported its pre-tax net income fell 33 percent annually to NT$1.54 billion last year, with revenue declining 4.6 percent to NT$10.68 billion.
ELECTRONICS
Promate Solutions to debut
Promate Electronic Co Ltd (豐藝電子), a supplier of electronic component and display solutions, plans to debut its components distributor unit, Promate Solutions Corp (勁豐電子), on the local over-the-counter bourse next month. With paid-in capital of NT$329 million, Promate Solutions reported revenue of NT$1.67 billion last year, up 1.29 percent from 2015. Its net income in the first three quarters of last year fell to NT$94.05 million from NT$108.02 million in the same period in 2015, with earnings per share of NT$2.86. Promate Electronic expects positive business outlook for its subsidiary on the fast development of “smart” cities and expanding applications of the Internet of Things.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last